Newsroom

Categories

NPPD’s “Behind the Outlet” public open house on Nebraska’s energy mix coming to South Sioux City

May 8, 2012

Columbus, Neb. – What will Nebraska Public Power District’s future electric generation mix look like? Will coal-fired and nuclear power generation facilities remain NPPD’s low-cost mainstay for generating electricity? How much renewable energy is on the horizon? Which environmental regulations will have the greatest impact on consumers in terms of cost and quality of life?

NPPD is currently giving Nebraskans an inside look at how it plans for future electric generation resources through a series of “Behind the Outlet” open houses being conducted across the state.

One of those open houses will be held in South Sioux City on Monday, May 14 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Marina Inn, 385 E. Fourth Street in South Sioux City. The public is welcome to attend any time during the open house hours, and should allow for a minimum of an hour to go through the stations and interact with NPPD personnel.

The public events will show what goes on “behind the outlet” in generating low-cost, reliable, and sustainable electricity for Nebraskans. NPPD will also be sharing the preliminary results of a study underway about its generation resources and seek opinions as to what its energy portfolio could or should look like in the future.

“Our Board, customers and subject matter experts have spent the past eight months analyzing the benefits and challenges of investing in additional environmental equipment at NPPD’s coal-fired facilities,” said NPPD President and CEO Pat Pope. The study also looked at the costs and benefits of increasing the amount of power generated at Cooper Nuclear Station. The analysis focused on the major drivers of future electricity costs, such as environmental regulations, and how much electricity will need to be generated to serve NPPD’s customers in 20 years.

“NPPD is required to have a long-term resource plan, and because Nebraska is a public power state, it must include the least-cost options,” Pope added.

The study is part of NPPD’s responsibility as one of states generating utilities to maintain a long-term Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), and meet the customers’ need for electric energy in 20 years. The objective of the IRP process is to secure the lowest long-term electricity cost consistent with the quantity and quality of electric service required by customers.

“NPPD modeled thousands of scenarios and every resource plan included up to 20 percent energy efficiency and renewable energy resources,” Pope explained. Although no decision has been made by the Board of Directors – and won’t be made until early 2013 – the study’s preliminary results show, in order to maintain the lowest-cost, electric generation and meet customer demand for electricity, NPPD should:

Continue generating some of its electricity using coal,

Invest in additional long-term emission control equipment, and

Increase the power generated using nuclear fuel.

NPPD will also be accepting feedback on what Nebraskans feel should be part of their future energy generation mix. Feedback can be submitted to GOAinput@nppd.com located at www.nppd.com/behindtheoutlet. Comments received will be included as part of the IRP.